a little home networking advise

Ok, so I finally got a Cable Modem. Now I'm trying to wire up my house. I did some preliminary wiring, prepped a MDF, and ran a couple of lines to a couple of rooms.
My thought for my home lan: Coax cable into Cable modem; Crossover cable from Cable modem into Switch; Straight-thru from Switch to PCs
My questions are:
1) Basically I am going to wire every room for lan connection, so each room will have a Cat-5 jack next to its already existing phone jack. What type of cable (straight-thru or crossover) do I use from the Switch to the jacks in each room I am wiring to?
2) Is a Switch good enough to share the one dynamically assigned address? Or would the ISP figure it out?
Thanks in advance

1. RE: a little home networking advise
hatchet Oct-22-01 08:05 AM
In response to message 0

1 Highly recommend using cat 5e cable, and wall jacks. When the equipment becomes available for gigahertz data transmission, you will be ready.
2 You will be using straight through connections no longer than 328 feet per run from the switch to the wall plate (length includes patch cables). DUX has a good tutorial on cables:
http://duxcw.com/digest/Howto/network/cable/index.html
3 Check under you providor's agreement about multiple hook-ups. I am using AT&T and they allow it. They prefer that you register your IP addresses but it is not required.
Cable Modem => Router => Switch (or hub) => nodes
Good luck!!!

2. RE: a little home networking advise
dskny Oct-22-01 05:07 PM
In response to message 1

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I'm running out the door to pick up a router now. Just found out that they are on sale.
Thanks
David

3. RE: a little home networking advise
regis_SR1 Oct-23-01 11:57 PM
In response to message 0

About your first question, it's straight-through, no doubt.
As for the rest, I'm not too sure, but would love to know.
Here is an extract from thw www.surfboard.com web site (my cable modem is a SurfBoard):
"I have more than one computer. Do I need more than one Motorola SURFboard computer modem?
No, if your computers are connected via a network, one Motorola cable modem will support up to 32 computers. Since each computer must have its own unique IP address - which you can order through your cable provider or ISP - expect to pay a little extra each month for each additional computer you tie in. "
Tell me what's that supposed to mean!!
Good luck...
Regis

4. RE: a little home networking advise
hatchet Oct-24-01 05:36 AM
In response to message 3

I am sorry for not making myself more clear on the router. The router, or "Residential Gateway" will supply IP addresses to your home PCs is hidden from your ISP (Internet Service Provider). They vary in price. Some require you to have the assigned IP address blocks be managed by a web site. Some allow you to set it within the router itself. I have not seen one that did not have a fire wall built in. Some have only one port that you uplink to your hub or switch (like the D-Link 701 which I have used in the past) and some have several ports so that you might not even need a hub/switch.
Hope this helps..
cable modem XXX> "Residential Gateway" ==> (hub/switch) ==> nodes

5. RE: a little home networking advise
lbyard Oct-24-01 07:55 PM
In response to message 4

My two cents...
>”… Coax cable into Cable modem…”
Most cable MODEMs have a twisted pair Ethernet interface and are connected with a CAT 5 (CAT 3 will work as they are 10 MHz) crossover or straight-thru cable (http://duxcw.com/digest/Howto/network/net2pc/hardware.htm and http://duxcw.com/digest/Howto/network/cable/cable6.htm) or a USB interface. Some have both. I strongly recommend that user insist on cable/DSL MODEMS with Ethernet interfaces so they can be used with most broad routers (http://duxcw.com/faq/ics/waysshare.htm). (I have seen routers that use a crossover between the router and a cable MODEM.)
> What type of cable (straight-thru or crossover) do I use from the Switch to the jacks in each room I am wiring to?
Straight-thru, CAT 5 or 5e (I use 5e and it costs about the same).
>Is a Switch good enough to share the one dynamically assigned address? Or would the ISP figure it out?
See above link on ways to share an Internet connection. Get a combination router/switch like the SMC Barricade (http://duxcw.com/digest/Reviews/Network/smc/smc7004br/smc7004br.htm and http://duxcw.com/dcforum/DCForumID2/1293.html). That’s what I use, they work very well, and they are reasonably cheap. Larry

6. RE: a little home networking advise
dskny Oct-24-01 09:23 PM
In response to message 5

Thanks guys
I picked up the Linksys 4-port Router for $99. I've got all my wiring completed and my internal network is fine. Now there is a problem with my cable connection, but that is a problem on my cable internet provider's side. Had some guys come out to take a look today and they said that another set of guys have to come fix. It wasn't something that these guys did. Oh well...hopefully, they'll come soon.
Thanks all for your help. Here is what my setup looks like or will look like:
Outside Coax to Motorola Surfboard 4100 Cable Modem > Straight thru to Linksys Wan > Straight thru to wall jacks in various rooms > Straight thru to pc's.
Now with this, I hope to pass the CCNA test.
Cheers!

7. RE: a little home networking advise
lbyard Oct-24-01 10:27 PM
In response to message 6

If the cable MODEM worked with your PVC and not with the router, it may be that the MODEM has memorized the MAC address of your PC's network adapter (http://duxcw.com/digest/Reviews/Modems/cable/sb2100D.htm). The Linksys router can be set to clone the MAC address and that may fix the problem. It may also cause problems if identical MAC addresses are detected, which shouldn’t happen, but I have seen indications of it. Or, if your Surfboard and cable system works like mine, connect the router, power cycle the MODEM about five times and pause long enough during each cycle to let the MODEM initialize, and go off a leave them for quite awhile—this an art which doesn’t always work and may take a few attempts. If you watch the IP address (release and renew it) with the router interface, you should see if first give the router a local IP address which probably starts with 192. …., and later another one that comes from the ISP’s DHCP server and starts with a different number. Larry

8. RE: a little home networking advise
dskny Oct-26-01 04:13 PM
In response to message 7

thanks for all the help. the cable guys finally came and took off some sort of filter they had on the pole outside my house.
I love the speed...it's much faster than the shared T1's I have at work.